Chapter 2: Mishna 19: Part 1

Rebbe Elazar says: Be diligent in the study of
Torah; know what to respond to a heretic; and know
before Whom you toil; and your employer can be
relied upon to pay your wages.

Rabbi Elazar is teaching lessons of discipline that relate
to Torah, Torah being the goal of man's existence. The essence
of man's creation was for him to toil in Torah, as it is written
(Iyov 5:7) "Man was created to toil." This was explained in
detail in Ch. 2, Mishna 9 (through an elaboration on the Gemara
in Sanhedrin 99b). If a person isn't diligent in his study of
Torah, then he isn't TOILING in Torah, but simply studying Torah
in his free time.

(The Hebrew word that I have translated as "diligent" is
"lishkod," which implies being industrious, devoting time in a
completely focused way. If we learn Torah as another way to
spend time, even with the recognition that it is a VALUABLE way
to spend our time, enhancing our life, increasing our connection
to Judaism, etc. -- it isn't being done with the diligence
implied in the word "lishkod." It is certainly a Mitzvah, but it
isn't the kind of Torah study which defines the purpose of man's
creation. See our explanation in part two of Mishna 9. )

Next, we are taught to study Torah in order to refute a
heretic. Just as a person is commanded to study and know Torah,
which enables him to know the Truth, it is also appropriate for
one to negate and eliminate false perspectives and lies from the
world. If falsehood is left to spread in the world, it could
ultimately overpower truth (Heaven forbid) and chase it away.
Therefore, it is incumbent on us to know how to respond to a
heretic (who is disseminating false ideology) to prevent the
spread of falsehood.

(A careful reading of the Maharal, as well as other
commentaries on this Mishna, indicates that the primary focus is
on KNOWING how to respond to a heretic, knowing how to negate
falsehood. This is a universal requirement incumbent upon every
Jew, fulfilled through the study of Torah which informs us about
truth and educates us towards it. The question of how and
whether to actually engage in a dialogue against false ideologies
is a more individualized question.)

After telling us of the difficult work ahead, studying Torah
with diligence and working to know how to refute a heretic, we
are taught to know before Whom we are toiling, and how reliable
He is in awarding us our compensation. If we exert great effort
in our Torah study, G-d gives us great reward (as will be taught
in the coming Mishna). Without this awareness, a person is
vulnerable to the natural tendency of laziness. Even though we
were cautioned against serving G-d with the motivation to receive
reward (Ch. 1, Mishna 3), that refers to a person whose main
objective in serving is to receive the reward. This lesson is
teaching us how to motivate ourselves when our natural
inclinations, due out material and physical makeup, resist the
service of G-d. Just as it is necessary to motivate a young
child to study by offering him an external reward, so, too, does
an adult [frequently] require a form of external motivation. If
the thought of the great reward that awaits him is used simply as
a motivational tool, this isn't considered "serving G-d for the
sake of the reward." Rather, he is using the reward to
neutralize his natural resistance to service, weakening the
"yetzer harah" (evil inclination) which is trying to divert him
from undertaking the work that is required of him. The thought
of the reward will help him overcome his natural laziness. (We
have previously explained this "laziness" as a fundamental
characteristic of the material world, which resists movement and
change. Material things have inertia, keeping them at rest
without some outside force acting upon them. Man must work hard
at overcoming this "laziness," the inertia to resist movement
and self-improvement.) Even a person serving G-d out of love,
motivated solely by his inherent desire to serve, is susceptible
to this natural laziness. It is for these times that we are
taught to remember before Whom we are working, and how confident
we can be that He will pay us our reward. The ultimate purpose
of our Torah study is certainly not for that reward, but this
awareness can help when we are attacked by a bout of laziness.

We have now explained how each of the five Tanna'im has
taught three lessons, with each of their three lessons linked
together.

But you should be aware that there is a deeper understanding
to the fact that each Tanna taught precisely three lessons. Each
Tanna had worked on himself to become a complete person, and they
were all teaching how each individual can attain his own
completion and perfection, through three lessons of discipline.
There is a need for three lessons, because in man there is more
than one force at work that is responsible for his various
activities. To attain perfection, each of the dimensions of the
person must be addressed, disciplined in a way that is
appropriate for each one. A lesson of discipline that will
improve one part of the human being may have no impact on another
part. There are many things a person must do to discipline
himself, but they can be grouped into three fundamental
categories of human functioning. One area is the physical forces
of the human being ("kochoth haguf"). Secondly, we have the
spiritual/emotional forces of the human being ("kochoth
hanefesh"). Each of these can be viewed as independent areas of
human functioning, and each requires its own lessons of
discipline. In addition, there is the unique combination of
these two forces, which is what makes him a human being ("ha'adam
atzmo"). (Animals have the physical dimension. Angels have the
spiritual dimension. Only human beings have the combination of
the two.)

Each of the Tanna'im taught man how to perfect himself by
addressing each of these three areas: A lesson to work on the
physical forces of man, a lesson to work on the
spiritual/emotional forces of man, and a lesson addressed to the
totality of the human being. And each Tanna added a level of
perfection to that taught by the previous Tanna, until the
lessons of the final Tanna taught how to reach perfection on the
highest level man can reach.

This will require deep understanding, to grasp how each
group three that was taught in each Mishna perfects man by
including the right side, the left side and the middle.

(This last line refers to the two extremes of "chesed" --
benevolent kindness -- and "din" -- strict justice -- and the
balance between the two. We seen this in different forms
throughout the first chapter, particularly in the introduction
and first two Mishnayoth.)

(The Maharal will now begin a review of the previous five
Mishnayoth, adding some new insights, showing how each Mishna
deals with the three dimensions he has just introduced -- the
physical force, the spiritual/intellectual force, and the unique
blend of the two which makes up the human being.)